12 oz. bottle courtesy of a trade with yem25. Pours just about black with a moderate tan head that lasted until mid-glass and left partial lace. Very pleasant aroma of chocolate and rye. The flavor is equally nice with more rye than chocolate. The flavor reminds me of my pumpernickel bread, which I include cocoa powder in my recipe. Some mild dryness at the finish. This is a different and very enjoyable beer.

Growler. Nice black pour with a tan head. Looks like porter,smells like hops,chocolate,and a sweet rye roast. The flavor is awesome,like others have said here..kind of like IPA meets stout,and the flavor changes throughout the glass, awesome mouthfeel, and a crisp hop finish...my burps tasted like hops. Founders does some mind blowing things with rye. The Bomb !

From 5/25/08. I bought this from Lone Hill Liquors in Los Angeles on a trip. I figured I should just go ahead and try a single while I still could since I heard this is retiring for a while. It pours quite a bit darker than cola brown with a tan head that fades quickly. Not much in the way of lacing. Smells of rye and some roasted malt with just a hint of hops. I wish I had tried this a little more fresh to try and get that hop bite. Taste is very nice for a rye beer. Spicy up front with some breadiness and plenty of coffee in the middle and then a nice hop bitterness at the end. Medium bodied with plenty of tingly carbonation still. A little too much rye to have more than a couple of for me but this was an enjoyable beer.

Delicious. The rye and dark/roasted malts play well together. Balanced, complex and spicy. A nice, dry finish is cleaned up by the hops. Slightly bitter, but rich in roasted malt and medium-high carbonation, this beer is really excellent. Could drink a couple of these without completely exhausting the pallete.

Pour is very dark with a little red around the rim, and not much head. The aroma is strong and sweet, with noticable coffee and rye, plus a little alcohol in there too. It tastes similar to a Baltic porter, with coffee and grains in the forefront. Putting a bunch of rye in there is a good move, and adds to the East European character of the brew. It is pretty dry and well-hopped. Indeed, it was so much like a glass of hopped-up brown bread that I wanted to stick a slice of ham and a pickle in my glass! Very fine. Thanks again to Adrian.